Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana

Piñata unsurprisingly reaffirmed that Freddie Gibbs and Madlib were a formidable duo. A little less predictable was that it took them to a new commercial level -- number 39 on the Billboard 200, easily the highest position claimed by a Madlib Invazion release -- and brought about a major-label deal through RCA. Five years after the triumph, the two return with Bandana. It's based on a bounty of beats Madlib crafted on an iPad and offered to Kanye West, who opted to use only one, heard on the gold-certified "No More Parties in LA." Gibbs claimed what was left, put in his work, and then met with Madlib to fine-tune it all. The result is an LP more rounded and more stirring than the excellent first one. Gibbs' ability to cover a tremendous amount of lyrical ground with minimal evident exertion, whether in first or fifth gear, is writ large. He's equally convincing regarding struggles and triumphs, palpably dispirited as he wrecks his family with unfaithfulness and drug dependency, almost